Microbial diversity in biofilms from corroding heating systems

Culture-independent investigations of the bacterial diversity and activity in district heating systems with and without corrosion did not make it possible to relate one group of microorganisms with the observed corrosion. Fluorescence in situ hybridization by oligonucleotide probes revealed the dominance of beta-proteobacteria, sulphate reducing prokaryotes and alpha-proteobacteria. Analysis of a clone library from one Danish heating (DH) system showed that the most sequences formed two clusters within the alpha-proteobacteria affiliated to the families Rhizobiaceae and Acetobacteraceae and two clusters within the beta-proteobacteria belonging to the family Comamonadaceae. Functional groups were determined by microautoradiography showing aerobic and anaerobic bacteria (sulphate reducing and methanogenic bacteria). The corrosion study showed that pitting corrosion rates were five to ten times higher than the general corrosion rates, suggesting the presence of biocorrosion. The results indicate that several bacterial groups could be involved in corrosion of DH system piping including sulphate reducing prokaryotes, Acidovorax (within the beta-proteobacteria), methanogenic bacteria and others.